Livia Drusilla in the context of "Tiberius"

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⭐ Core Definition: Livia Drusilla

Livia Drusilla (30 January 59 BC – AD 29) was Roman empress from 27 BC to AD 14 as the wife of Augustus, the first Roman emperor. She was known as Julia Augusta after her formal adoption into the Julia gens in AD 14.

Livia was the daughter of senator Marcus Livius Drusus Claudianus and his wife Alfidia. She married Tiberius Claudius Nero around 43 BC, and they had two sons, Tiberius and Drusus. In 38 BC, she divorced Tiberius Claudius Nero and married the political leader Octavian. The Senate granted Octavian the title Augustus in 27 BC, effectively making him emperor. In her role as Roman empress, Livia served as an influential confidant to her husband and was rumored to have been responsible for the deaths of several of his relatives, including his grandson Agrippa Postumus.

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👉 Livia Drusilla in the context of Tiberius

Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (/tˈbɪəriəs/ ty-BEER-ee-əs; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was Roman emperor from AD 14 until 37. He succeeded his stepfather Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC to Roman politician Tiberius Claudius Nero and his wife, Livia Drusilla. In 38 BC, Tiberius's mother divorced his father and married Augustus. Following the untimely deaths of Augustus's two grandsons and adopted heirs, Gaius and Lucius Caesar, Tiberius was designated Augustus's successor. Prior to this, Tiberius had proved himself an able diplomat and one of the most successful Roman generals. His conquests of Pannonia, Dalmatia, Raetia, and (temporarily) parts of Germania laid the foundations for the empire's northern frontier.

Early in his career, Tiberius was happily married to Vipsania, daughter of Augustus's friend, distinguished general and intended heir, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa. They had a son, Drusus Julius Caesar. After Agrippa died, Augustus insisted that Tiberius divorce Vipsania and marry Agrippa's widow, Augustus' own daughter (Tiberius's step-sister) Julia. Tiberius reluctantly gave in. This second marriage proved scandalous, deeply unhappy, and childless; ultimately, Julia was sent into exile by her father. Tiberius adopted his nephew, the able and popular Germanicus, as heir. On Augustus's death in 14, Tiberius became princeps at the age of 55. He seems to have taken on the responsibilities of head of state with great reluctance and perhaps a genuine sense of inadequacy in the role, compared to the capable, self-confident and charismatic Augustus.

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Livia Drusilla in the context of Nero Claudius Drusus

Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus (38–9 BC), commonly known in English as Drusus the Elder, was a Roman general and politician. He was a patrician Claudian but his mother was from a plebeian family. He was the son of Livia Drusilla and the stepson of her second husband, the Emperor Augustus. He was also brother of the Emperor Tiberius; the father of the Emperor Claudius and general Germanicus; paternal grandfather of the Emperor Caligula, and maternal great-grandfather of the Emperor Nero.

Drusus launched the first major Roman campaigns across the Rhine and began the conquest of Germania, becoming the first Roman general to reach the Weser and Elbe rivers. In 12 BC, he led a successful campaign into Germania, subjugating the Sicambri. Later that year he led a naval expedition against Germanic tribes along the North Sea coast, conquering the Batavi and the Frisii, and defeating the Chauci near the mouth of the Weser. In 11 BC, he conquered the Usipetes and the Marsi, extending Roman control to the Upper Weser. In 10 BC, he launched a campaign against the Chatti and the resurgent Sicambri, subjugating both. The following year, while serving as consul, he conquered the Mattiaci and defeated the Marcomanni and the Cherusci, the latter near the Elbe. His Germanic campaigns were cut short in the summer of 9 BC by his death after a riding accident.

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Livia Drusilla in the context of Palla (garment)

The palla was an elegant cloak or mantle that was wrapped around the body. It was worn outside the house by (affluent) Roman women. It was a luxurious version of the Roman men's pallium. The palla was a traditional ancient Roman mantle worn by women, fastened by brooches. The shape was rectangular instead of semi-circular, as with the traditional toga. The garment dates to the 3rd century BC, but the type of dress must be much older. In Latin literature, the term palla is used ambiguously. It can denote not only a cloak, but also a foot-length sleeveless dress with straps (or a brooch) worn directly on the skin. The second is a common dress form in the entire Mediterranean world. In a Greek cultural context, this is called peplos. In a Roman cultural context, if worn by a Roman matron, it also takes the name stola.

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Livia Drusilla in the context of Marcus Livius Drusus Claudianus

Marcus Livius Drusus Claudianus (born no later than 93 BC – died 42 BC) was a senator and praetor of the Roman Republic. He was born with the name Appius Claudius Pulcher, into the patrician family of the Claudii Pulchri but adopted by a Livius Drusus as a small child. His daughter Livia Drusilla became the wife of the first Roman Emperor Augustus, and he was a direct ancestor of the Julio-Claudian emperors Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius and Nero.

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Livia Drusilla in the context of Villa of Livia

The Villa of Livia (Latin: Ad Gallinas Albas) is an ancient Roman villa at Prima Porta, 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) north of Rome, Italy, along the Via Flaminia.

The Villa of Livia may have been part of Livia Drusilla's dowry that she brought when she married Octavian (later called the emperor Augustus), her second husband, in 39 BC. Some scholars believes that Livia may have received the site from her first husband, Tiberio Claudio Nerone. However, most likely, it may also have been a gift given to her by Octavian upon their betrothal.

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Livia Drusilla in the context of Stola

The stola (Classical Latin: [ˈst̪ɔ.ɫ̪a]) (pl. stolae) was the traditional garment of Roman women, corresponding to the toga that was worn by men. It was also called vestis longa in Latin literary sources, pointing to its length.

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Livia Drusilla in the context of Livii Drusi

The gens Livia was an illustrious plebeian family at ancient Rome. The first of the Livii to obtain the consulship was Marcus Livius Denter in 302 BC, and from his time the Livii supplied the Republic with eight consuls, two censors, a dictator, and a master of the horse. Members of the gens were honoured with three triumphs. In the reign of Augustus, Livia Drusilla was Roman empress, and her son was the emperor Tiberius.

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